St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-12
HOW WASHINGTON DIED.
Medical Men Assert That He Was
Bled and Blistered to Death.

Bled and Blistered to Death.
Washington Special to the New York
World: Thirty members of the late
Medical congress met in a social way
after the regular business of the day, in
the parlOr of a guest at one of the hotels.
The delegates were elderly medical men
of the SO-called old school of doctors, but
representing progressive minds of the
allOpathic branch of the medical pro-
fession; some of them had been profess
sorS in medical colleges many years ago.
These old friends, in conversational
way, compared notes relative to the
radical changes which have taken place
in the methods of treatment of diseases,
the large and frequent doses of calOmel
and other powerful remedies admins
tered to their patients in the practice of
forty and fifty years ago, compared with
the almost infiniteSimal doses now pre-
scribed and the now total abandonment
of some remedies and modes of treat
ment which were in general practice
then.
The Old-timer doctor, and even the
physician of but recent date, formerly
carried in his coat pocket formidable
lance, the sight of which frightened his
nervous patient. With that instrument
he proceeded, by way of preliminary
preparation for ''cOurSe of medicine,"
to open large vein in the sick persons
arm and therefrOm draw from pint to
quart of blood. Then followed the in
evitable prescription of fifteen to twenty
grains of colonel, accompanied by a
bottle of castor oil, and the patient
would be Laid up" thereafter for some
days engaged i'll recovering from his
heroic medical treatment. Now phle-
botomy OF ,blood-letting has been
half-grain doses at intervals of three OF
four hours, and so OH to the end of the
list of old popular remedies.
One OF the physicians present, pursu-
ing this theme, astonished his hearers
by asserting that the Father of His
Country" Gen. George Washington, did
not die natural death, but was killed
by his doctors. Here several voices
simultaneously exclaimed:
That's a libel! Where's your evil
dence?" Thereupon the supposed Ii
heller produced from a Georgetown,
acc o o be nepT deab and S AN
of Gen. Washington, together with the
certificates of the physicians, Drs.
Craik and Dick, who treated
the illustrious patient in his last
illness. The certificates of these
physicians, who resided about fifteen
miles from Georgetown, showed that
Gen. Washington, having been exposed
to rain on Friday, Dec. 13, on the night
OF that day was attacked with chillS,
accompanied with pain in the upper
and fore part of the throat, coughing,
difficult rather than painful swallowing,
succeeded by fever and quick and
labOriOuS respiration.
''Gen. Washington" says the account,
regarding the attack as only a severe
cold, would not send for a physician,
but called in one of his servants,
bleeder. SO-called, who TODD from
the sick mans arm nearly pint
of blood, which was a gOOdly portion
of the vigorous, healthy life of the
patient. The patient was about in that
condition until the srrival of his phySi-
clans at 10 o'clock the next morning
Saturday, when the doctors proceeded
to repeat the bleeder's operation, and
twice within about four hours took
other two pints or quarts of blood. In
the interim were employed two copious
bleedings, blister was applied to the
part affected, two moderate doses of
calOmel were given, succeeded by re-
peated doses of tartar emetic, amount
ing to five or six grains, with no other
effect than cOpious discharge from the
bowels"
This was treatment of the heroic
kind" interjected the alleged libeller,
(which was enough tokill any ordinary
well man." and it was evidently doing
the business for the general, for the
learned doctors add:
The powers of life seemed now mani
testify yielding to the force of the dis
order. BliSters were applied to the eX-
tremities, togetherswlth catapalsm of
bran and vinegar to the throat. Speak
ing, which was painful from the begin
ming, now became almost impracticable.
Respiration grew more and more con-
tracted and imperfect until II 80 o'clock
on Saturday night, when, retaining the
possession of his intellect, he expired
without a struggle.
mo WONDER" remarked the alleged
llbeller. ''HOw could he struggle after
losing about all the blood in his body,
with huge bliSters aiding in the deple-
ton of vital strength and his stomach
crammed with tartar, emetic and Gallo
mel so that there was no room for food
or fluids, which he should have had TO
keep up the system? Poor man, how
he must have suffered; and he couldn't
make them stop their torture, although
he seems to have tried to do so. But
the medical men certify that after re-
peated efforts to be understood he sue
ceeded in expressing desire that he
might be permitted to die without inter
ruption. There, my brother doctors.
are you convinced? Wasn't that a clear
case of malpractice"
''NO, sir;' humorously responded
brother doctor. ''That was in accord
ance with the treatment adopted by
that eminent physician, DR.. Sangrado,
who had large practice in Spain over
200 years ago, which practice, as i'm
parted by the renowned Sangrado to his
apt student Gil Blass, consisted in CO.
plus bleeding and keeping the patients
body filled with hot water"